Cut a live 120v line in an attic last Tuesday. Lucky I had rubber handles on my lineman's pliers.

I was up in an attic off 14th street pulling a new drop for a home office. Blamed myself for not double checking where the old Romex was stapled to the rafters. My pliers snipped right through it and there was a loud POP and a flash. Scared me so bad I nearly fell through the ceiling. The homeowner ran up asking if everything was ok. Has anyone else gotten caught by a hidden wire in an old house?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel5521mo ago

Man I felt that one just reading it. Getting popped by 120v in a hot attic is a RITE of passage but MAN it wakes you up. Rubber handles saved your bacon for sure, those pliers probably paid for themselves ten times over in that one second. Old houses are the WORST for hidden wires, builders back then just ran stuff wherever and stapled it down like it was nothing. Glad you didn't fall through and make a bigger mess of your day.

riverhill1mo ago

My buddy Mike had almost the same thing happen in a 1920s house over in Springfield. He was up in the attic just replacing some old knob and tube wiring and his back brushed against an exposed junction box. That 120v knocked him clean off his balance and he put his foot right through the drywall in the hallway below. Lucky for him he landed on a stack of old insulation instead of the floor joist, but his wife still gives him grief about the hole every time they have company over.